Car-door fastener.



No. 656,860. Patented Aug. 28, 1900.. R. D. SMITH &. F. A. DELAND.

CAR DOOR FASTENER.

(Application filed Apr. 25, 1900.)

(No Model.)

IIIIHIIII R We 722 0712 Eeierz'g @270, M W fil/W 7 Y fizzaw ROBERT I). SMITH AND FREDERIG DELANO, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR-DOOR FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 656,860, dated August 28, 1900. Application filed April 25, 19001 derial No. 14,213. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ROBERT D. SMITH and FREDERIO A. DELANO, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Door Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, economical, and efficient car-door fastoner; and the invention consists in the features, combinations, and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side. elevation of a portion of a car-door fitted with our improvements; Fig. 2, a sectional view taken on the line 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow, and Fig 3 a perspective View of one of the staples constructed in accordance with our improvements.

In the art to which this invention relates it is well known that the motive of this particular class of inventions is to seal and prevent the opening of car-doors without destroying the seal; It is true the seal olfers no great obstacle against the opening of the door by any party who desires to abstract contents from cars without permission of the transportation company, owner, or consignee; but it does provide a clew to the particular locality at which the car has been opened, so that with the usual methods now in the employ of the railroads the thief can be traced. So true is the foregoing that parties who had hitherto made a living by practicing this kind of thievery have been compelled to abandon it in cases where the door could notbe opened without destroying the seal. In this art, however, many and ingenious methods have been devised by thieves to open the door without destroying the seal, and one of these methods is to take a small lever or pinch-bar and pry on the door-staple, to which the hasp is pivotally secured, in such a manner as to withdraw one portion of it from the wood and permit the hasp to be slid out of its position, and when the contents of the car or such portion of them as they may desire have been abstracted the hasp has been sprung back into position. It is to prevent, therefore, the springing of the staple out of position, and thereby prevent the disengagement thereof with the hasp, which is the principal object of our invention, all of which will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In fitting a car with our improvements we make a staple which is provided with a base portion A, having an inwardly-extending lip or flange ct at its rear end adapted to be inserted into the wood in such a manner that the staple cannot be twisted on its securingbolt B without leaving a groove of such nature in thewooden portion of the car as to notify the employees of the road or the inspecting department that the fastening devices of the carhave been tampered with. EX-

tending upwardly and then downwardly from this base portion of the staple is a U-shaped loop portion A, which has its free end 0t embedd ed a desired distance into the wood. Pivotally secured to this loop portion of the staple is the hasp 0, adapted to engage a proper staple D on the door-post and be sealed in any desired manner.

It is desirable to provide means which will prevent the disengagement of the staple and the hasp without destroying the seal or some part or portion of the mechanism, so as to furnish a clew to the inspecting department. In order to provide such mechanism, the U-shaped or loop portion of the door-staple, and preferably the downwardlyextending portion a, is provided with an outwardly-extending 1ugA above which the hasp is held in position, as shown particularly in Fig. 2. Inspecting Fig. 1, it will be seen that the hasp has an elongated opening or hole cat that part where it engages with the door-staple, This is provided to permit the log and the downwardly-depending portion of the staple to be placed in engagement with the hasp and to be disengaged therefrom whenever it becomes necessary so to do.

From the foregoing description of construction and operation and an inspection of the drawings which form a part thereof it will be seen that the door-staple may be pried outwardly, but that a disengagement of the sta* ple and hasp cannot be effected without de stroying either the seal at the ordinary place or the breaking of the securing-bolt l3,'which will furnish a clew to the inspecting department of the railroad company. It is needless to dwell on the great advantage which flows from the use of this invention, for the reason that those skilled in the art Will readily appreciate it as being another valuable aid for the protection of property in course of transportation.

We c1ain1 1. In mechanisms of the class described, a staple having a base portion adapted to be secured to the door of the car and an upwardly and downwardly extending portion forming the. loop proper provided with an extendinglug portion A arranged at right angles therewith between which and the loop portion a hasp may be pivotally secured, substantially as described.

2. In mechanisms of the class described, a staple portion provided with a fiat base portion having an inwardly-proj ectin g lip and an upwardly and downwardly projecting loop or staple portion proper the free end of which is provided with an extending-lug portion and a hasp provided with an elongated opening Where it engages With the staple portion, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

ROBERT D. SMITH. FREDERIC A. DELANO. WVitnesses:

THOMAS F. SHERIDAN, H. I. Gnonnrn 

